SDSU basketball lands biggie: Josh Davis

Tulane forward Josh Davis, left, and Memphis guard Geron Johnson reach for a loose ball in the first half of a men's NCAA college basketball game in the Conference USA tournament in Tulsa, Okla., Thursday, March 14, 2013. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
— AP

Tulane forward Josh Davis, left, and Memphis guard Geron Johnson reach for a loose ball in the first half of a men's NCAA college basketball game in the Conference USA tournament in Tulsa, Okla., Thursday, March 14, 2013. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
/ AP

When his assistants first mentioned that a promising fifth-year forward might be a transfer target from Tulane, a team San Diego State has never played in men’s basketball, Coach Steve Fisher didn’t have to pop a DVD into his laptop to see who they were talking about.

Tulane had played at USD the week before the Aztecs hosted their cross-town rival in December, and that was one of the game tapes Fisher watched to scout the Toreros. He saw a 6-foot-8 forward who looks a lot like Kawhi Leonard play a lot like him – finishing with 19 points and eight rebounds in 36 minutes, stamping the game with his relentless energy and athleticism.

“Is that the guy?” Fisher asked excitedly.

That was the guy. And now he’s their guy.

Davis spent the last two days visiting SDSU, then orally committed to the Aztecs shortly before leaving for the airport Wednesday morning. Because he is a fifth-year player with an undergraduate degree – commencement at Tulane is Saturday – Davis is able to use his final season of eligibility in 2013-14 without sitting out a year.

That void left by Jamaal Franklin, who led San Diego State in points, rebounds, assists and steals last season? It just got filled.

The recruiting trips to Gonzaga and Ohio State, which he was also considering? Cancelled.

“I like the coaching staff,” Davis said. “I like the style of play – long, athletic players, very versatile. I just felt comfortable here.”

It represents the second major recruiting coup of the spring for SDSU, which last week landed Arizona transfer and Hoover High alum Angelo Chol. Some consider Davis – a first team all-Conference USA selection after averaging 17.6 points and 10.7 rebounds for a 20-win Tulane team – the nation’s best transfer who is eligible for the 2013-14 season.

It also comes at a time when SDSU was transitioning between recruiting coordinators, with the departure of Tony Bland to USC and the return of Justin Hutson. Associate head coach Brian Dutcher was the point person for Davis’ recruitment, and Fisher used words like “phenomenal” and “yeoman’s work” to describe Dutcher’s role in identifying and then courting a player who suddenly popped on a lot of radars.

“A whole bunch of schools called me,” Davis said.

How many?

“I can’t even tell you,” he said. “Too many.”

Among those linked to him in some capacity this spring: Gonzaga, Ohio State, Illinois, Iowa State, Minnesota, Pittsburgh and Arizona.

Davis attended Athens Drive High in Raleigh, N.C., then spent his freshman year two miles away at North Carolina State. Wanting a larger role, he transferred to Tulane and played two seasons after sitting out one – leaving him one year of eligibility.

“He’s a seasoned, experienced, mature, veteran player,” Fisher gushed, able to speak about Davis because he signed a scholarship agreement. “He’s been in college for four years. He knows what it’s like. He knows how good the opponents are. And he’s performed at a very high level at Tulane.

“He’s not going to be intimidated with the opposition, nor will he be frazzled with the travel.”

Technically, he’s a small forward. But what attracted him to SDSU was Fisher’s history of developing players of his build – long, sinewy, athletic, versatile. He can play with his back to the basket. He catch on the wing and get to the rim.

“I never really consider myself to have an actual position,” Davis said. “I’m just a basketball player. I can defend any position 1 through 4. I even played some 5 (center) at Tulane.”

He becomes the second fifth-year transfer in Fisher’s tenure, and the second from Louisiana. Two years ago the Aztecs landed fifth-year LSU transfer Garrett Green.

“It was a wonderful experience for Garrett,” Fisher said. “We talked to Josh about Garrett and about how much he loved being here.”

Davis also considered returning to Tulane for his final season, or turning pro.

“I sat down with my family and analyzed it,” said Davis, who is expected to enroll in the first session of SDSU summer school later this month. “We felt it would be better long term to play somewhere else next season instead of short term playing pro now.”